McDonald's sues Burger King over kids meals

Published on July 08, 1999.

McDonald's Corp. sued archrival Burger King Corp. over Burger King's new line of large-size meals for kids, Burger King Big Kids Meals. In a lawsuit filed June 30 in U.S. District Court in Detroit, McDonald's charges unfair competition and contends it was first to target older kids via a program called "Big Kid's Meals'' launched last year for three weeks in 240 McDonald's outlets in southeastern Michigan.

Burger King said it will "vigorously'' defend its right to use the name. The Burger King line was launched nationally June 28. "If this were a school assignment, Burger King would get an F for plagiarism,'' a McDonald's spokesman said.